Teleforum

Teleforum is a new electronic public relations technology that previously was used almost exclusively by Congressmembers in Washington D.C. to build name-recognition in their Congressional Districts, and maintain contact with constituents. In the height of election season 2008, Teleforum technology was expanded to promote state and local candidates. By early 2009, it started being used at the city, town and county levels. It is being promoted by political advocacy and PR firms, like New West Public Affairs in Colorado, as as an electronic "town hall meeting," that can be used to disseminate information and/or as a way to influence public opinion at the local level.

How it works
TeleForum uses special software and a web-based interface to set up a live, mass telephone conference among large numbers of people simultaneously. The software is capable of dialing tens of thousands of targeted phone numbers at one time, and sends a customized recorded phone message to each person answering the phone asking them to join a live, ongoing teleconference simply by pushing a number on their telephone keypad. Calls that get routed to voice mail receive a separate message detailing a reason for the call, so no opportunity for contact is missed. A single moderator can limit or expand the focus of the conversation, and selectively allow pre-screened participants to speak (or not) "based on the desired direction of the forum," permitting those moderating the call to control the point of view and regulate input into the forum. Participants are kept on mute throughout the call. Participants who want to ask a question are instructed to push a numeric button on their keypad, which places them in a queue for a response from a screener. Screeners can then interview questioners and rate participants' questions numerically, "based on their impression of the value that participant will add to the forum."

Politically Direct/PDConnect, the Denver firm that promotes use of the conferencing software, states on their Web site that, "this town hall style of tele-conferencing creates a unique environment for direct voter contact that can be tailored to reach a wide range of active voters. The forum can be designed to ... encourage activism relative to a specific bill or bills." Another feature of the software is that it can "offer a direct connection to the office phones of legislators" which can cause a flood of callers to "inundate" legislators with telephone calls in favor or opposed to a specific bill or measure.

Call hosts can conduct real-time polling by asking participants questions and instructing them to press numbers on their telephone keypads that indicate which pre-determined response they prefer. Responding outside the pre-determined answers is not facilitated.

Phony caller ID
Typically the caller ID on a Teleforum call indicates that the call originates from a toll-free 800 number, which the literature about the program says can alienate participants. For an extra fee, a Teleforum client can mask that number and substitute a local phone number or the text of their choice -- such as the name of the host -- in the caller-ID readout.

Teleforum was adapted for public relations applications by a Colorado company called Politically Direct. It is promoted on the Web at PDConnect.net.

How Teleforum is being used
Teleforum can be used as a PR tool that allows elected officials to elevate the profile of an issue while tightly controlling the dialogue about the issue. PDConnect also promotes teleforum as a polling and fundraising tool, since polls can be taken during the call and real-time results generated. Funds can also be solicited during the calls.

Colorado
In February, 2009, elected officials in Mesa County, Colorado, with assistance from the public relations firm New West Public Affairs held a Teleforum in the county, the purpose of which appeared to be to direct and shape public opinion about proposed statewide legislation to regulate the oil and gas drilling industries. Using Teleforum software, County elected officials phoned the homes of 30,000 registered voters in the county simultaneously at 9 AM on a Saturday morning and asked them to participate in an ongoing teleconference about the issue of natural gas drilling. The tenor of the discussion favored the point of view of the drilling industry. One commissioner who acted as the moderator of the call stated about halfway through the meeting that a caller (who was not allowed to speak) had asked to know if the commissioners had “given thought to having anyone on the panel with a differing opinion.” The moderator, Commissioner Janet Rowland, responded by saying the meeting "wasn’t intended to serve as a pro-and-con discussion of the industry," but rather "as a forum for people to ask questions." Rowland and another Commissioner, Craig Meis, both have financial ties to the energy industry in the County, according to the local paper.

Michigan
Also in February 2009, Congressman Mark Schauer, a Democrat from the 7th Congressional District in south-central Michigan (an area that includes Battle Creek) put on a series of public forums over the phone using Teleforum technology. An article in the Chelsea, Michigan Dexter-Leader contained the following quote:

... But a few local residents said they felt as if they were at a campaign rally and not a town hall meeting.

"It was a sham," said Dr. Reuel S. Long, a one time member of the Dexter School Board, who participated in one of the recent tele-forum meetings. "I listened for over an hour and there wasn't one person that asked an opposing question. It was clear that Mr. Schauer wasn't interested in hearing from anyone who disagreed with him."

Dr. Long said he believes Schauer's staff weeded out opposing viewpoints.

"When you first call up, they ask you certain questions and they are geared at finding out which side you are coming from," he said. "You punch in numbers on the phone. One of the questions was, 'do you support the stimulus package.' I don't think anyone who responded 'no' was going to get to ask a question."

Schauer and his staffers denied that they screened calls or denied anyone the right to ask a question or voice their concerns during the call.

PoliticalRobocalls.com, which provides robocall services to exclusively Democratic candidates, says that Teleforums, which they also call "Telephone Townhalls" or "Virtual Townhalls," qualify for Congressional "franking" privileges when used to contact constituents.

Contact details
PD Connect Politically Direct 1410 Grant Street Denver, CO 80203 (303) 813-0800

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * New West Public Affairs
 * Astroturf

External resources

 * Link to audio of Mesa County, Colorado's "Town Hall" Teleforum call, Saturday, February 21, 2009
 * Press release about Mesa County, Colorado's "Town Hall" Teleforum citing organizer New West Public Affairs.